FTSE 100 recovered some modest impetus after vaccine worries overnight as Johnson & Johnson suspended the European rollout of its coronavirus vaccine amid reports of blood clots in the US. London’s leading index added 7 to 6,897 in early trading.
Tesco PLC (LON:TSCO) posted a 20% drop in full-year profits after extra costs outweighed a surge in sales sparked by the pandemic. The grocer had to hire more staff and returned £585mln in business rates relief to the government.
easyJet PLC (LON:EZJ) said it’s ready to ramp up operations once restrictions on international travel are relaxed. The airline expects interim losses to swell three-fold.
The University of Oxford has expanded a trial where over 1,000 participants are given two different vaccines in the first and second dose. Results from the first phase are expected next month but the study will last for a year.
Immotion Group’s (LON:IMMO) Uvisan division has entered into an agreement with Aardman Animations, the creator of Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep. Uvisan will supply Aardman with UV-C disinfection cabinets to clean the puppets, props and rigging kit.
United Oil & Gas PLC (LON:UOG) unveiled a significant upgrade to oil and gas reserves at the Abu Sennan concession, onshore Egypt. According to an independent report, proved and probable (2P) reserves have risen by 24%.
AdEPT Technology Group PLC (LON:ADT) said the acquisition of cloud networking specialist Datrix for up to £16mln is a “game-changer”. The deal takes “us to the forefront of next-generation networking delivery”, said the telecoms specialist.